Fig Newton Swirl Cookies

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What's your favorite cookie?  Well, as Danielle from Ever After would say, "I could no sooner choose a favorite star in the heavens!"  My mom always had Fig Newtons around when I was a kid.  I kind of liked them, though I preferred the raspberry newtons.  Over the years I have occasionally tried out homemade versions for her, because the store bought ones are honestly quite chemically.  I have done traditional shapes and sugar cookie swirls with fig jam.  Since my previous homemade Newton rendition was brought up before a trip to visit, I decided to try them again.  I crossed my fingers and adapted a traditionally shaped recipe to be a swirl.  I have to hand it to Stella, that dough is spot on and even better than commercial newtons.  I did tweak the filling just a skosh.  I was amazed at how good these tasted, like store bought only better; no chemical flavors or texture.  The steaming technique is brilliant, be sure to include the top paper towel to protect from condensation.  Do not skip the steaming step!  Plan on making these the day before you need them.
 
Does anyone remember the tagline from the old Newton commercials?  "A cookie is just a cookie, but Newtons are fruit and cake."  These really are like a combination of cookie and cake, with the soft, cakey dough.  I loved how much easier the swirls were to make than trying for the traditional shape.  (And honestly I think they look nicer too.)  This is the Newton recipe I will use from here on out.  Thank you to Karen for hosting this Sunday full of cookies! 


Homemade Fig Newton Swirl Cookies
adapted from serious eats

For the cookie dough:
295g all-purpose flour
140g butter, soft but cool
110g light brown muscovado sugar
3.6g (⅝ tsp) baking soda
1g (¼ tsp) sea salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
30g honey or golden syrup (I used half and half)
1 tsp orange zest
15g (1 tbsp) fresh orange juice
3 large egg yolks, cold 

For the filling:
340g dried figs, stems trimmed (make sure they are not old and hard, I used Calimyrna figs)
100g unsweetened applesauce (about 1/3 cup; 100 g)
30g (2tbsp) fresh orange juice 
½ tsp vanilla paste
1 tsp lemon zest

Make the dough:

Cream together the butter, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, honey, and orange zest in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl occasionally.  Add the orange juice, then add the egg yolks one at a time and continue beating until smooth.  On low speed, spoon in the flour, mixing until well combined.

Form the dough into a smooth ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic and chill until cool and firm, but not hard, about 1 hour. (The dough may be made a few days ahead; soften for 30 minutes at room temperature.)

For the filling: Cut the figs in half. Pulse with applesauce and orange juice in a food processor until roughly chopped, then process to a thick, smooth paste.  Scrape the bowl and blade with a flexible spatula, then add the vanilla and zest and process a minute more to ensure there are no chunks remaining.  Transfer to a bowl and cover until ready to assemble the cookies.  If making ahead, keep the filling chilled, and bring fully to room temp before spreading.

To make the cookies: Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.  Lightly dust a work surface with flour and press out the dough into a rough rectangle.  Dust with flour and roll out the dough to an even thickness between ⅛" and ¼" thick.  If the rectangle cracks, just press the seams back together and continue rolling out.  (Rectangle will be around 15x18½" give or take an inch.)

Drop spoonfuls of filling evenly over the dough and gently spread out with an offset spatula or knife.  Leave a 1 cm border on one long edge.  Once the filling is spread, carefully roll up the cookie dough, cinnamon roll style from a long edge.  Transfer the dough to a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.  Once the log is very firm, slice into ½" rounds and place on the lined baking sheet.  (Discard any scraggly ends with little filling or scrunch them together and bake for tasting.)

Bake until the cookies are puffed and firm, without significant browning, about 13 minutes.  Let the cookies sit on the sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container lined with a paper towel.  Layer the cookies in single layers and place a paper towel between each layer and on the top.  This step will "steam" the cookies and give them that soft and cakey texture you find in store bought fig newtons.  The cookies need to age and set in the container for at least 6 hours before serving.  They will be slightly dry if eaten prior to that.  This makes them excellent make ahead cookies!  Store for up to 5 days at room temperature or up to two weeks in the fridge.

Be sure to check out all the rest of our Sunday cookies:

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